“I remember”: Memories of the Olden Days of Galilean Cities - Tiberias and Tzippori (Bava Batra 91b and 75b)

These Talmudic passages cite memories of sages of Eretz Yisrael. They are unrelated to halacha, which is unusual. The sages cited are some of the most cited sages, see my piece here: Rabbi Yoḥanan (#1 most-cited); Rabbi Elazar (#3 most-cited); Reish Lakish (#18); Rabbi Yosei (#11). 

A Cycle of Six Memories of the Olden Days by Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar

Bava_Batra.91b.5-6

(סימן: סלע, פועל, חרובא, טליא, אמרין.) 

1. דאמר רבי יוחנן: נהירנא כד הוו קיימין ארבע סאין בסלע; והוו נפישי נפיחי כפן בטבריא, מדלית איסר. 

2. ואמר רבי יוחנן: נהירנא כד לא הוו מיתגרין פועליא למדנח קרתא; מריח פיתא מייתין. 

3. ואמר רבי יוחנן: נהירנא כד הוה בצע ינוקא חרובא; והוה נגיד חוטא דדובשא על תרין דרעוהי. 

4. ואמר רבי אלעזר: נהירנא כד הוה נטיל עורבא בשרא; ונגיד חוטא דמשחא מריש שורא ועד לארעא. 

5. ואמר רבי יוחנן: נהירנא כד הוו מטיילין טליא וטלייתא בשוקא כבר שית עשרה וכבר שב עשרה, ולא הוו חטאן. 

6. ואמר רבי יוחנן: נהירנא כד הוו אמרין בי מדרשא: דמודי להון – נפיל בידיהון; דמתרחיץ עליהון – דיליה דילהון. 

The Gemara provides a mnemonic for the following list of Rabbi Yoḥanan’s recollections: Sela; laborer; carob; boy; they would say. 

1. The first statement is that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when four se’a of produce were sold for one sela, and yet there were many swollen from hunger in Tiberias, as they did not have even one issar coin with which to purchase food. 

2. And Rabbi Yoḥanan further said: I remember when laborers would not agree to work on the east side of the city, because they would die from the smell of the bread that would waft over them from the city’s west side. 

3. The Gemara continues to relate other, more salutary, memories: And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when a child would break a carob, and a line of honey would extend over his two arms. 

4. And Rabbi Elazar said: I remember when a raven would take a piece of meat, and a line of fat would extend from the top of the wall upon which it was standing to the ground. 

5. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when a boy and girl, of sixteen and seventeen years of age, would walk together in the market, and they would not sin. 

6. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when they would say in the study hall that one who agrees with the gentiles falls into their hands, and that one who relies on them sees that which is his become theirs.

Summary

This Talmudic passage presents a series of recollections from Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar, highlighting contrasting aspects of life in their times.

1. Rabbi Yoḥanan recalls a period of severe economic disparity and hunger in Tiberias, where despite low prices for produce (four se’a for one sela), many were too poor to afford even the cheapest food.

2. He also remembers a time when the aroma of baking bread in one part of the city was so overwhelming that laborers refused to work nearby, as it led to fatal consequences.

3. The passage shifts to more positive memories, with Rabbi Yoḥanan reminiscing about abundant natural sweetness, such as a child breaking a carob pod and honey flowing over his arms.

4. Rabbi Elazar contributes a memory of remarkable abundance, where a raven carrying a piece of meat would leave a trail of fat from a wall to the ground.

5. Rabbi Yoḥanan reflects on the moral purity of youth, recalling when young men and women could interact without committing sins.

6. Finally, Rabbi Yoḥanan recalls a cautionary teaching from the study hall about the dangers of agreeing with or relying on gentiles, warning that it leads to loss of autonomy and possessions.

Reminiscences of the grandeur of the city of Tzippori in its heydey, and the future grandeur of the city of Jerusalem

Bava_Batra.75b.9-10:

אמר ריש לקיש: עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להוסיף על ירושלם: 

1. אלף טפף גינואות, 

2. אלף קפל מגדלים, 

3. אלף ליצוי בירניות, 

4. אלף ושני שילה טוטפראות; 

וכל אחת ואחת הויא כצפורי בשלוותה. 

תניא, אמר רבי יוסי: אני ראיתי צפורי בשלוותה, והיו בה מאה ושמונים אלף שווקים של מוכרי ציקי קדירה. 

Reish Lakish says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will add to Jerusalem: 

1. 1,000 times the numerical value of tefaf of gardens; 

2. 1,000 times the numerical value of kefel of towers; 

3. 1,000 times the value of litzoy of fortifications; 

4. and 1,002 times the value of shilo of small houses [totpera’ot]. 

And each and every one of these additions will be like the great city of Tzippori in its prosperity. 

The Gemara clarifies the size of the city of Tzippori. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei said: I saw Tzippori in its prosperity, and there were 180,000 markets of sellers of meat sauces in it. On this basis, one can estimate the future size of Jerusalem.